DC's animated slate seems to be fairly packed in the near future, with The Long Halloween, Part One and Part Two releasing in the upcoming months and a reported adaptation of the NetherRealm's Injustice fighting game in the pipeline. The Mortal Kombat developers have put together a DC-themed fighting game, with heavy-hitters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman set to appear again.

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Their animated pool of movies has historically been quite strong overall. Injustice had a good comic book story attached even as a video game original, maintaining itself as a worthy candidate for adaptation and opens up several reasons to look forward to what this could offer.

A Surprise-Hit Fighting Game Story

Injustice art featuring Harley, Superman, Solomon Grundy, Wonder Woman, and Batman

Fighting games have never particularly been known for having stories that go beyond "passable," but Injustice: Gods Among Us and Injustice 2 both proved to have surprisingly good stories despite the convention in that gaming genre. An easy factor to look to in finding a reason for that is its usage of DC's comic book/superhero genre and characters as the entire premise of the games.

While the dystopian tropes used are generally tired out in fiction, namely the "evil Superman" angleInjustice made the most of its overall story to deliver an entertaining and compelling "Elseworlds" plot and alternate universe lore/worldbuilding.

Animated Redemption

Cover art for The Killing Joke, Hush, and Apokolips War movies

While the overall catalog of DC animated movies has some of the best in the comic book genre, they have been showing signs of stumbling--if not outright crashing--in more recent years. The conclusion of the DCAMU had a split critical reception among general audiences and critics, with the division stemming from its cheaply gratuitous use of the R rating to kill off beloved characters for shock value.

Elsewhere, the acclaimed Batman comic The Killing Joke got a poor adaptation and reception among both critics and fans for the uncomfortable, out-of-character portrayals of Batman and Batgirl. Hush also got complaints from fans for needless changes to the comic's plot and knock-off anime art style. Hopefully, things look up with The Long Halloween movies, but Injustice could be more reason to look forward to the future.

Injustice 2

Promo image for Injustice 2 featuring Supergirl, Batman, and Superman

Of course, should this reported animated Injustice movie get received well critically and commercially, it could naturally lead into Injustice 2 being adapted. DC would get to fill a slot in their animation roster for later down the line and the story would get to be continued. Granted, that's assuming they don't somehow try to cram and mesh both stories into one movie.

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Injustice 2 would bring new characters mix and new plotlines as a result. Hopefully, this initial movie has the production value necessary to create a good, purely cinematic iteration of this story, especially since Batman's insurgent group rebuilding the world and combatting Brainiac begs adaptation.

Two-Parter

Cover art of Batman in The Dark Knight Returns, Part One and Two

Details as of now are scarce for this project aside from that it's reportedly happening, but until more is known, perhaps Injustice gets split into two movies is on the table. The Dark Knight Returns, Part One and Part Two is arguably the best DC animated movie to specifically come out of the Animated Original Movies line, and allowing the story to be fleshed out into two parts is part of the reason why.

Injustice certainly has a fairly grand-scale story and scope, so maybe there's hope that it can be expanded into two movies to let the plot breathe and pacing to be steady. The upcoming The Long Halloween adaptation also getting this treatment could suggest it's possible.

A Dystopian Alternative

Batman's vision of the Knightmare timeline in ZSJL

It would definitely be a consolation prize at best for fans of Zack Snyder's corner of the DC multiverse, but an Injustice animated movie could be the spiritual successor/alternative to what he was intending to do with his movies. Zack Snyder's Justice League was trying to set up a dystopian future with a Superman turned against Earth, so while not the same thing--nor live-action--it could at least be a good alternative for this type of story.

Being in the animation format may provide creative liberties that a premise like this in a big-budget live-action movie might have trouble getting greenlit.

Focusing On Individual Stories

Promo art of Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Flash in Injustice

The cinematic universe formula has become undeniably popular, but it isn't a guarantee for the quality of every individual movie. The DCEU started in a rough manner and ended up inciting current and future attempts at course corrections. DC even established the aforementioned animated movie universe, but an argument is being made about whether now is the time to dial things back and focus on one project at a time.

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Self-contained stories in one or two movies can still be engaging, so with the DCAMU over, an Injustice movie under the Animated Original Movies umbrella could get the focused attention it deserves. Not everything needs the burden of interconnecting, setting up, and expanding a whole universe.

Future Game Adaptations

The Arkham Collection and Batman: The Enemy Within cover art

DC's animated originals typically go for adaptations from their comic books, but this movie could open the door for more opportunities in the future. Assault on Arkham was released as an animated sequel to Arkham Origins, and with Injustice in the future, DC could look into their comic book games even more.

The Arkhamverse is still a possibility given the time spanning from Origins to Knight--and even comics in between--as it could be interesting seeing an in-universe movie, with Batman and Robin earlier in their dynamic. There could even be a spin on Telltale Games' episodic-adventure Batman games, too, as long as the writing is consistent since the consumer interactivity would be cut out.

Injustice Comics

Superman in the Injustice comics

Of course, similar to the Arkham games, Injustice ended up spawning a series of well-received comics to supplement the stories and world of the games. They did well to expand on the origins that set up the premise of the games, as well as bridging the gap between the first and second.

They all provide a hefty amount of lore to pull from, giving this adaptation plenty of content to pack the movie with as much as it may need. The second comics series could even get its own animated adaptation before Injustice 2 would hypothetically get its own movie. Like with DC's already vast catalog of comics, this world alone could be the catalyst for a few movies to plan out (should they choose).

Voice Cast Potential

Injustice: Gods Among Us character roster featuring Superman and Joker

DC's upcoming two animated movies have gotten a strong cast attached, with Jensen Ackles starring as the Dark Knight and industry veteran Troy Baker as the Joker, for starters. The talent pool is big, and Injustice by nature has an all-star cast of characters--superheroes, supervillains, anti-heroes--that could invite some exciting picks for characters from many corners of the mythos on top of the usual Trinity heroes.

RELATED: Injustice 3: 5 Characters That Should Return (5 That Shouldn't)

The likes of Troy Baker and Nolan North are big names in voice-acting thanks to their range and would surely be welcomed additions. Though, given the wide selection of characters that could appear, it's fun to think about the high ceiling of potential DC could come up with for actor choices.

More Excitement In The Franchise

Cover art for Injustice and Injustice 2

While indirectly related to the upcoming movie itself, should things work out for it, this could provide another injection of excitement in the Injustice franchise overall. Fans online have already been clamoring for an Injustice 3 announcement from NetherRealm now that Mortal Kombat 11 has had a good amount of time in the sun.

It's definitely possible the game exists and is already deep in development, but having a movie exploit the popularity of the games can only help going forward. Granted, as long as future games can string together premises that don't get beaten into the ground, then this could continue to be a long-term DC fighting game franchise.

NEXT: Injustice: 20 Most Brutal Deaths In The Comics